Who is a Jew?

The definition of who is a Jew may depend on a few things. Because Judaism has no specific race, it can include characteristics of an ethnicity, religion, and citizenship, and so the definition of who is a Jew is not specific.

This question has been a subject to legal arguments, especially in Israel but also outside of it. There have been court cases in Israel since 1962 which had to address the question. In addition, the United Kingdom and other countries has had to consider whether the question was a racial issue or not.[1]

It was an important question to the Nazi party in Germany. The Nazis decided who a Jew was with the Nuremberg Laws.

The question is based on the person's genealogy. Simple definition: a person is a Jew either by birth (in any case if one's mother is Jewish) or by religious conversion.[1]

However, some disagree. Therefore, the following need to be taken into account:

• Are the parents mixed (Jew and Gentile)?
• What is the conversion process?
• Has there been a loss of Jewish identity?
• What is the person's diaspora identity?
• Do they have an Israeli citizenship?

• Israelite

• Humanistic Judaism view on Who is a Jew Archived 2009-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Reform view of who is a Jew Archived 2009-05-24 at the Wayback Machine by the Union for Reform Judaism
• Who is a Jew by Jewish Virtual Library
• Orthodox and Non-Orthodox Judaism: How to Square the Circle by JCPA
• Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman: Israel cannot be arbiter of conversions to Judaism Archived 2009-10-12 at the Wayback Machine by Shalom Hartman Institute
• Matrilineal descent Archived 2011-07-09 at the Wayback Machine Conservative view
• The "Who Is a Jew?" Controversy by the U.S. Library of Congress
• Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman: The challenge and crisis of conversion in Israel Archived 2009-01-31 at the Wayback Machine by Shalom Hartman Institute
• Who is a Jew? from www.beingjewish.com
• "How Do You Prove You’re a Jew?" Gershom Gorenberg, New York Times, March 2, 2008
• "Rabbinical Court Puts Thousands Of Converts in Legal Limbo" Ruling Reopens Fractious Debate Over ‘Who is a Jew?’", Nathan Jeffay, The Forward, May 8, 2008
• "Israel considers question: ‘Who is a Jew?’ – Issue heads to higher court after rabbis annul some 40,000 conversions" Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine (November 2008)
• Who is born a Jew? Rabbinical and Karaite interpretations side by side Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine from half-Jewish.org
• Times Online, The law of the land collides with the Law of Moses
• Israel risks alienating Jewish diaspora over definition of a Jew